Intentionally discomforting, con-con’s ‘Neighbors’ is also compelling

 

Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics

 

The New York Times called thirty-three-year-old playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins “one of this country’s most original and illuminating writers.”

 

The New Yorker compared him to Sam Shepard, Lorraine Hansberry and Eugene O’Neill.

 

He is cerebral, provocative and his awards – which include the 2014 Obie Award for “Appropriate” and “An Octoroon,” recognition as a 2016 Pulitzer Prize finalist for his play “Gloria,” and a 2016 MacArthur Fellow “genius” grant – are imposing.

 

But Jacobs-Jenkins got off to a shaky start with his first full-length work, “Neighbors,” a wildly theatrical, frequently outrageous, and overly-ambitious play that is currently in production by convergence-continuum.

 

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